Satan's Sword (Imp Book 2) (25 page)

I handed him my room key to charge the beer and took a plunge.

“How long have you been a vampire, Scott?” I asked.

He looked at me quizzically. I almost believed him.

“Wow, maybe I shouldn’t have given you that beer. You’re sounding like you’ve had quite enough already.” He laughed in a genial manner. “I’ve never had anyone mistake me for Dracula before.” He gestured at his round belly. “Not exactly the tall-dark-handsome-with-a-cape type.”

He swiped my card and froze, what little color he had draining out of him in a dramatic sweep. He actually had to steady himself with a hand on the electronic register as he stared at the screen.

“Baal. I … I … I’m so sorry. I didn’t recognize you, what you are. I meant no disrespect. I’m so sorry.” He shook slightly and stared at the spot just below my eyes. Poor guy was terrified. What were they teaching these vampires about us?

“Dude, it’s okay” I reassured him in what I hoped was a friendly manner. “Seriously. I’ve been living as a human for over forty years and hardly anyone recognizes me. I’d have been insulted if you did know what I was at a glance. We’re good. Really.”

He looked up at me, curiosity getting the better of him.

“Forty years? Honestly? I see your kind in here a lot, but I don’t think they stay longer than a couple of days.”

“I had to really control myself, to hold back a lot to remain undetected,” I told him. “I’m proud to say I had an angel within twenty feet of me once and he didn’t even recognize me. So don’t feel bad. Even the vampires down in Baltimore didn’t know, and I’ve been practically camped out on their doorstep. Your boss can hardly fault you.”

He grimaced. “Oh yes she can. Actions are what matters. Results, intentions, circumstances are all of little importance.”

He recited this like it was something he’d memorized from a vampire training manual. I wasn’t sure if he was too young to have perfected the polite distance that all of the other vampires had with me, or if the shock of finding out I was a demon had blown his composure clean away. Either way, I planned on taking advantage of his chattiness.

“I’ve heard ‘the end justifies the means,’ but this whole ‘means above all’ doesn’t seem very productive. How the hell do you guys get anything done?”

He hesitated for a moment, glancing around. “The code of behavior has loopholes, but only the very old are skilled enough to take advantage of them. It’s better for the rest of us to follow the letter of the law.”

Before I could reply, an out-of-breath woman dashed through the bar to my side, obviously awaiting my attention. I turned and looked at her obligingly. This must be that casino manager who everyone had been insisting I meet.

“Baal, we welcome you here,” she gasped. I wonder how far she’d run to make sure I didn’t disappear before she managed to finally speak with me. “My name is Kelly and I manage the casino. I’d like to introduce you to Mario who will be your liaison during your stay.”

Mario must not run as fast, since he hadn’t yet arrived. I wondered if he looked like the video game Mario. Kelly did not look like a video game character. She was a vampire, not as young as Scott the bartender, but not old enough to be putting out any kind of power signature. She looked to be in her mid-twenties, although with vampires it was impossible to tell. She was tiny. Barely over five feet and slight of frame, probably a hundred pounds max. She looked to be of Mediterranean descent. Her skin tone light, her eyes as dark as her hair, her face an adorable heart shape with high cheekbones and a tiny, pert, turned-up nose. All her features pointed toward a fragile, delicate woman, but the way she carried herself, the authority in her every movement, spoke otherwise. This was a woman who’d had to fight a stereotype every step of the way to be taken seriously. Maybe because of that her emotions were closer to the surface, covered by only a thin crust of polite distance, as opposed to the miles of concrete that surrounded the other vampires I’d met. Besides Scott, that is.

“If there is anything you need, anything at all, please don’t hesitate to let Mario or me know. Mario will always be at hand to serve you, and I’ll give you my cell phone number in case you need to reach me directly.”

I realized that Mario was going to be my minder. He’d make sure I didn’t cause too much trouble, steer me in the appropriate direction, let the higher-ups know if I was getting out of hand. I wondered if they did this with all the demons, or if Kyle had ratted me out as particularly troublesome.

“Your meeting with The Master is scheduled for Sunday morning. We have a hunt scheduled for you Saturday night. I have several targets for you to choose from, and I took the liberty of noting their schedules for that night so that you may save time and effort in locating your chosen prey.”

Ahhh. My meeting right after the hunt. That way I don’t get so carried away killing things that I run out of control. I’d have a tight time window to keep to. If I got over excited and missed my meeting, well then I’d certainly not be granted another. They’d been told I was under pressure to deliver this thing, so this schedule would assure I’d keep my killing within parameters. I’d be willing to bet Kelly wouldn’t even discuss potential prey until tomorrow, just in case I was tempted to start early. Plus, they’d scoped out the schedules of the victims to keep me from enlarging my kill numbers as I looked for them. Very smart folk, these vampires.

“I’m afraid we’re still nailing down those schedules, so I won’t be able to discuss the potential prey until late tomorrow afternoon,” she apologized. Just as I’d thought. “I can offer you several choices of entertainment for tonight and tomorrow though. Perhaps you would like a snack?” She said this with a significant look. Not this again. I assumed I needed to guess what the fuck she meant.

“Snack like burger bites?” I asked. “Or snack like something bipedal that would scream a lot and beg for mercy?”

“The latter.” She smiled, as if she’d just offered me a pretzel. “I was told that you brought a human toy for enjoyment, but I thought perhaps you might like something additional? I’m assuming you may have already used up the one you brought with you.”

Sheesh, these vampires were worse than we were.

“Wyatt is my companion, my most favored human. He’s not a toy. I don’t intend to break him or use him up. He’s going to be occupied with the gaming tournament for most of the weekend, so I’ll probably do the tourist thing, gamble a bit, see if I can find The Donald and Own him.”

A brief look of frustration crossed Kelly’s face. I’m sure she would have preferred I locked myself in my room and devoured humans for the weekend. If I was out and about, Mario would have his hands full keeping me in line. Too bad.

“I don’t believe Mr. Trump is in town. Mario will be thrilled to show you the highlights of Atlantic City and our fair casino though.”

Yeah, I bet he’d be thrilled. Hope they were paying this guy a lot of money.

“So you’re in charge of this whole resort? Impressive.” I thought I’d butter her up a bit and see if I could get any useful information from her. It worked. She practically glowed with pride.

“Oh no. I report directly to the General Manager though. I’m in charge of the Casino and the VIP services. Stephen is in charge of the hotel, dining, and facilities. With VIP guests such as yourself, I have primary responsibility for their entire experience.”

She said this with a smug look lurking under the polite, generic smile, indicating that this function put her a notch above Stephen in the chain of command. We demons understand the importance of these little things, since knowing where you stood in a hierarchy was a big part of our lives. It was either a big part of vampire lives too, or Kelly just had an axe to grind with Stephen and liked rubbing his nose in the fact that she was a smidgen more important. I nodded and looked at her as if her status pleased me.

“Can you let me know if there are any other demons in the resort, and where their current locations are?” If she’d tell me, it would save me time. I didn’t really feel like spending the afternoon combing the resort looking for Haagenti’s goons.

Kelly looked suspicious. I knew she was well aware of every “VIP” in her resort and probably had minders tracking their every breath. I could see her wondering why I wanted this information and if it would be detrimental to her if she gave it to me. We don’t usually work in groups, so it wasn’t likely that I’d gather a posse and trash the casino. Still, I’m sure she was wary of my intentions.

“There are three,” she said grudgingly. “Two are in male form, the other in female form. They don’t appear to be together. One male is currently at the spa getting a pedicure, of all things. The female is at the ten dollar blackjack table, although she is making some noise about being hungry. The other is in his room. He is scheduled to leave tonight.”

Wow. I was really liking this Kelly woman. She was obviously stretched thin with four of us here at one time, but still knew exactly where we each were.

“You’re good,” I told her, not shy about giving praise when it was due. “Why did it take you so long to track me down? You should have had a tag in my ear the moment I stepped through the doorway.”

I could see the aloof mask getting thinner.

“We didn’t expect you so early. In our experience, demons usually don’t get up before noon, and we knew you had a good drive to get here. After you got here, none of us seemed to be able to identify you easily. The reservations desk had only a vague description.”

She paused and her eyes ran over me in admiration.

“You have the most convincing human form I’ve ever seen. You don’t leak energy. Even your actions are those of a human. If you hadn’t used your room key to pay for your drink, you would probably still be wandering around here unnoticed, until you started counting cards at blackjack or manipulating the roulette wheel, that is.”

“Or exploding glasses of vodka while trying to freeze them,” I added. I was sure she’d heard about the fracas at Bang.

She couldn’t hide a quick grin, and the mask evaporated.

“I know the most successful predators are those that blend in, appear other than what they are, but….” She paused, deciding how to phrase her question. “But does it bother you when others underestimate you, think you’re just a weak human?”

This was clearly something she experienced all the time. And it bothered her.

“It’s a decision you have to make,” I told her honestly. “Personally, I like to say ‘fuck it.’ Let them underestimate me. Means they’re more surprised when I drive a pike through their face.”

Kelly looked doubtful. “But don’t you demons put huge stock in your place in the hierarchy? If you’re underestimated, doesn’t that affect your rank?”

I shrugged. “Yes, but I don’t really care.”

“Doesn’t it hurt your pride? Isn’t it insulting when someone thinks you’re a nobody, thinks you’re not worthy of respect?” she asked.

Like when someone thinks you’re an insignificant, worthless cockroach. I winced. It had never bothered me before, but I was starting to care what that stupid angel thought about me.

“Pride has a terrible price,” I told her. “People with pride are so easy to defeat. They never see it coming. A little cockroach takes down the mighty giant. Of course, it’s best to make it look like a fluke, an accident, and run and hide as quickly as you can.”

Kelly looked doubtful. “But then no one knows you’ve done it. They still won’t respect you. How can you advance, live up to your potential, and take your rightful place in the world if you hide in the woodwork like a cockroach?”

I was feeling really uncomfortable with her logic. All this talk of respect was bullshit. She wasn’t getting my point here.

“There’s a reason pride is a sin,” I told her. “The inner strength you feel is deceptive. It actually creates enormous vulnerability, sets you up for a fall of your own making.”

I made a quick decision. Heck, it worked with the gate guardian in Columbia, might work with vampires, too.

“I’d really like it if you’d join me for dinner. Wyatt will be busy with his gaming friends, and eating alone is boring. You do eat, don’t you? You guys consume more than blood, right?” I hoped so, otherwise it might be an awkward dinner.

She looked surprised and a little nervous. “Yes, I eat solid food. I actually eat a lot. Very fast metabolism, you see.”

I smiled. “Why don’t you pick the place, make the reservations, since you know the restaurants. I’ll put myself in your capable hands. Mario can let me know when and where.” I pointed to a large, bouncer-looking man with a Bluetooth prominently attached to one ear. “I assume that’s Mario.”

Kelly nodded and gestured the man over. Mario most definitely did not look like the video game Mario. He was a vampire, a huge black guy with a shaved head and not a bushy mustache in sight.

“Mario, this is our honored guest. Please ensure she enjoys her visit by being attentive to her every need.”

“Call me Sam,” I told him.

“Of course, Baal.” I got the feeling that he would never call me Sam.

“All righty then. Come on Mario, let’s go get ourselves a pedicure.” I said, gesturing for him to lead the way toward the day spa and demon number one.

The demon was picking out pink nail polish. Idiot. I watched him a few seconds to see if I could determine who he was. He wasn’t leaking quite as much power as most, so it took me a moment. Finally, I realized with a sinking heart that it was Sobronoy.

Sobronoy is a hit-man. For a fee, he’ll knock down the targeted demon and numb them physically, confusing their thoughts enough to incapacitate them, and deliver them to whoever paid him for the job. He was good. It was looking like I would soon be up close and personal with Haagenti.

I walked up to him and handed him some blue polish. “Here. Pink is so last year.”

He tensed, finally realizing who I was, and turned to fix me with a cold gaze.

“Nice form.” His eyes moved slowly down to my feet and back up. “Should be great fun to peel the flesh off you one strip at a time. Maybe Haagenti will let me watch.”

I felt slightly ill. This wasn’t going to be the enjoyable kind of torture.